Tuesday, January 14, 1997
With the success of Oasis and Radiohead and the potential
breakthroughs of Prodigy and other British dance bands, another
British
invasion could be at handBy Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Contributor
With the success of English bands such as Oasis and the trend of
alternative-music audiences drifting toward more pop-based and
beat-driven styles, the words "British Invasion" are popping up all
over the place, from the cubicles of record label offices and the
news rooms of music magazines to the airwaves of modern-rock radio
stations.
Since the beginning of rock, England has always had a music
scene as fresh and diverse as the United States. The ’60s and early
’70s will always be remembered for the musical uprising launched by
British pop/rock legends, including the Beatles, the Rolling
Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Who. The mid to late ’70s
saw the Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Clash and the Police, all of
which met with either critical or commercial success. New Wave and
synth-pop arrived in the States through the mid ’80s with the likes
of Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and Bananarama. Eventually, Nirvana
and other rock bands blew synth-pop off the radio waves, and
English music has since remained on the brink of college radio.
Now, the circle may be starting over. Britain’s music scene has
exploded in the mid ’90s with the worldwide successes of Oasis,
Pulp, the London Suede and Blur. While the era of "Britpop" that
flourished in 1994 and 1995 has long been proclaimed dead by the
British press, perhaps the year ahead, which will see releases from
almost every major English band, will bring it back.
In addition, the dance music scene in England has resurfaced in
a big way, with popular acts like Underworld and Prodigy. The
scene’s immense popularity in both the club setting and the pop
charts has the U.S. music industry’s full attention, creating
record label bidding wars.
However, there is one major obstacle: the people who buy the
records, listen to the radio and watch MTV. In the past few years,
Britpop  except for Oasis, Elastica and Radiohead  has
been either ignored or excluded from American audiences. While all
of Europe bounced to this new music revolution, the United States
was busy moshing to its own alternative music movement.
Britpop’s absence here can be blamed on lackluster promotion,
little airplay on both radio and MTV, and the unstoppable momentum
of "harder" music. But the most pressing problem lies in the
audience not relating to the genre’s poppy eccentricity and
Anglocentric lyrics.
"Pulp and Blur might be too British for the American public,"
Andrew Beaujon, music co-editor of Spin magazine, said of the
bands’ lyrics. Pulp’s latest release, "A Different Class," was a
modest success and a cult favorite overseas, but its subject matter
failed to resonate with U.S. audiences.
"It’s a brilliant album all about class distinctions, and that’s
not that important here. The class system is huge in England Â
everyone knows how much everyone else makes. They talk about it in
pubs," Beaujon says.
Will things change in 1997? That remains uncertain. "All of
America is asking that. We just don’t know whether the British rock
acts will translate well so Americans can relate to it," says
Robert Hilburn, pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times.
Oasis clearly is the most successful British pop act to hit the
States in over a decade. With guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher’s
Beatles-like melodies and his brother Liam’s soaring vocals, Oasis
has conquered the radio and MTV. They have sold over 4 million
copies of their second album, "(What’s the Story) Morning Glory,"
which has sold 11 million copies worldwide. They are arguably the
most popular band in the world, breaking several attendance records
for concerts in the U.K. and winning countless awards for their
album and hugely successful single, "Wonderwall."
"I love Oasis. Noel’s a great songwriter. He’s got great
instincts. They can stand up to fame," says Hilburn. But will
America stand for the band in the future?
Many fans were put off by their show cancellations and on-stage
antics at the MTV Video Awards this year, where Liam spit on stage
and sang the words "up yer bum." Their third album, slated for a
summer release, will be a determining factor.
Oasis, however, has competition in their native land. Pulp, led
by the charismatic geek-turned-sex symbol Jarvis Cocker,
encountered major success in 1995 with their Mercury Prize-winning
album "Different Class." With such glam anthems as "Misshapes" and
"Common People," which was a tremendously popular song in England,
Pulp went from obscurity to No. 1. "Different Class" and "Common
People" were critics’ faves in 1996 here in the U.S., but "Class"
didn’t sell more than 30,000 units. Pulp also has an album coming
out in 1997.
Another buzz band from the U.K. is the hugely popular Blur,
whose self-titled album will be released here in America on March
11. Blur has sold millions of albums and has played arenas and
stadiums all over Europe, but they have had little success in
America, save their 1994 hit single, "Girls and Boys." Like Pulp,
however, Blur has a big cult following here that translates into
concert sellouts of 2,000-4,000 people per show.
But that’s about the only thing that translates well. Blur’s
quirky, Kinks-influenced pop and singer Damon Albarn’s Anglo-Saxon
lyrical musings do not connect with the American audience.
"(Damon’s) a smart guy. He writes great lyrics. But it doesn’t
translate well here in America," Hilburn says.
The list of British releases for 1997 is long and promising.
Radiohead, heralded often as "the next U2" and one of the few
British success stories here in the States, will come out with an
album later in the year, as will Elastica.
Other U.K. darlings with upcoming album releases include
Supergrass and Gene. America will finally see the London Suede’s
third full-length album "Coming Up" this month. Kula Shaker, the
psychedelic pop outfit with the current radio hit "Tattva," will
continue touring the United States this February in support of
their U.K. No. 1 album "K."
Even more buzz circles around the current British dance music
craze. With millions of albums sold recently in that particular
genre, U.S. record labels are vying for the chance to break these
bands in America. And they are willing to dole out the money for
them as well.
The attention currently is most focused on Prodigy, an eccentric
outfit whose "Firestarter" is a hit in both the U.K. and the United
States. According to the Jan. 12 issue of the L.A. Times, Madonna’s
Maverick Records could pay more than $5 million to sign Prodigy to
their label. This is an expensive gamble, but when a bidding war is
involved among record labels looking for The Next Big Thing,
anything goes.
James Kahn, rock buyer for Westwood’s Rhino Records, sees a
future in British dance music. "We have always stocked it and have
always done extremely well with it. There’s a slight but definite
increase in visibility in bands that have U.S. record deals like
Orbital and Prodigy. Oasis-style Britpop was popular six months
ago, but now it’s dead. The new wave of British bands is much more
electronic."
But, like British pop, techno-influenced dance music has
American audience obstacles too.
"The problem with (techno/dance) is that it’s hard to identify
with. The artists also seem faceless and lack personality," says
Hilburn. "Prodigy, though, has personality and a chance in
America."
Even charismatic bands like Prodigy have to contend with the
American preference for rock bands.
"(Prodigy’s) ‘Firestarter’ is a great single. It seems like it
could break here in America, but it’s a very different scene here.
In England you have electronic music on MTV and people talk about
it in pubs. Here, it’s really at the stage where it’s more talked
about than listened to," Beaujon says.
Straight dance music may also have a limited audience in the
States, according to Beaujon. "It’ll have to sound like rock music
to get played here. (Dance) is still not the kind of thing your
15-year-old cousin’s going to be listening to. Kids won’t be
cruising on a Friday night with ‘Firestarter’ blasting out their
windows. College kids want to listen to pop music. And with the
younger kids, it’s all Marylin Manson and Korn, pretty much
exclusively," Beaujon says.
Hilburn thinks crossover success lies in combining the best of
both worlds. "If we have lyrics like Noel Gallagher’s, and blend
them with Prodigy’s sound … that would be magic," Hilburn says.
Many insiders and journalists like Hilburn are looking to U2’s
eagerly anticipated album "Pop" because it does combine those two
elements. This may pave the way for British dance music in America,
already a hopeful prospect with the early, heavy radio and MTV
airplay given for U2’s brand-new single, the guitar-driven and
club-influenced "Discotheque."
There is also Underworld, who scored a huge hit with "Born
Slippy," featured in the movie "Trainspotting." Their album "Second
Toughest in the Infants" was released in the U.K. to positive
reviews, and now U.S. labels are all bidding for rights to
distribute their synthesized sound. Orbital, with the KROQ hit "The
Box," also has potential.
The Chemical Brothers, with a new album coming out on the
EMI-based Astralwerks label March 25, is definitely another
potential breakthrough act for 1997. They already have critical
acclaim, and their current single "Setting Sun" (with Oasis’ Noel
Gallagher) is a dance chart hit, but it is anyone’s guess how much
further the Chemical Brothers can go commercially.
"In concert, Chemical Brothers don’t come and play the hits,
which is what the U.S. audiences want. You often can’t even see
them (onstage)," Beaujon says, echoing complaints that British
dance bands aren’t audience-friendly.
Kahn agrees. "I’m not sure that (their music) will ever transfer
to the live stage. It doesn’t necessarily lend itself to live
performances  charismatic live performances. I’ve seen a few
of these bands and think they’re good, but it’s not like going to a
conventional show. It’s more like a rave, and in Britain that’s the
scene  that’s huge there. Here, people are more into
traditional clubs."
Now that the buzz is there, it’s all up to the record labels to
promote these British bands, the media to give them exposure, and
the American listening audiences to give them a chance. With the
trend toward pop music, it may be the ’60s all over again.